The Subscription Economy Requires a New Playbook

We all suffer from the same two (2) malady’s… First, we fear change rather than embracing it – so we run from it or fight its gravitational pull. Secondly, we believe that our tried and true approach is ageless and will work in any business era – without modification or remediation. Wrong – sorry Bunkie, it’s time for a new Playbook!

We have entered the Subscription Economy and the need for altering your business model, strategy, go-to-market approach and much more are all necessary to ensure you take your fair share of the subscription pie.

But our beliefs and fears are holding us back – even when the evidence is clear and in plain sight, we hold the line and stay the course.

Well, I’d like to provide just one example of how sticking with the “Old Playbook” inhibits us from progressing and developing better long-term business. This one approach causes many suppliers and distributors from significantly increasing their sales through in-direct channels, while throwing good money after bad in trying to fix the wrong problem – to the tunes of millions of dollars spent with no return on investment (ROI) in sight.

The problem simply stated is that they put the cart before the horse and continue to invest in sales and enablement training on in-direct partners who have not made the investments in developing a subscription-based business model.

All the sales training in the world, no matter how good or well-intended it may be, will never provide a large enough catalyst to overcome a business, sales and operational model that is not subscription aligned, friendly and embraced culturally by your partners.

This is but one small example of how legacy approaches impede a solid strategy and the associated desire to grow a strong subscription services business.

Imagine you have a great training session, everyone’s excited to hit the bricks and start selling that new subscription solution-stack – only to find that their Sales Compensation Plan does not factor in or reward sales professionals for driving the new agenda. What a waste…

So, when you find yourself sitting back and reflecting upon why your partners or your own people just don’t get it – perhaps a better question to ask might be: “How many of our partners really want to change and will actually invest in developing a consistent and growing subscription business, and what can we do to help them?”